The explosive growth of digital data use and storage leads to an enormous rise in energy consumption, which is rapidly becoming unsustainable. Ultrafast
opto-magneto-electronics is an emerging field that combines the ideas and concepts of opto-magnetism and spin transport with photonics for ultrafast low-dissipative manipulation and storage of information. Both light and spin currents can control magnetic order, but mechanisms as well as corresponding time scales and energy dissipation differ. The MAGNETOFON Action aims at the best of both worlds, combining short time scales and non-dissipative propagation of light with nanoscale selectivity and strong interactions of spin currents. The ultimate goal is to create and implement non-volatile, low-dissipative, and ultrafast functional elements for data technology.
The research objectives of the MAGNETOFON Action will be achieved by combining the existing expertise of the scientific communities dealing with ultrafast magnetism, spintronics, magnonics, photonics and advanced spectroscopy, and by sharing the new knowledge arising from the exchange between them. This Action will result in a considerable leap in the quality and effectiveness of research in Europe, by bridging the existing gaps between these areas.
The ambition of the Action is to initiate a breakthrough in the field of low-dissipative opto-magnetism and femtosecond spintronics with the help of a joint scientific program bringing together presently nearly non-overlapping scientific communities. By training a new generation of scientists at the interface of the involved disciplines, further development of the field will be ensured together with a successful translation of the scientific breakthroughs into innovative technological solutions.

Kick-off meeting: 3 October 2018

Administrative information of the project available from the EU COST web site:

COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a pan-European intergovernmental framework. Its mission is to enable break-through scientific and technological developments leading to new concepts and products and thereby contribute to strengthening Europe’s research and innovation capacities. It allows researchers, engineers and scholars to jointly develop their own ideas and take new initiatives across all fields of science and technology, while promoting multi- and interdisciplinary approaches. COST aims at fostering a better integration of less research intensive countries to the knowledge hubs of the European Research Area. The COST Association, an International not-for-profit Association under Belgian Law, integrates all management, governing and administrative functions necessary for the operation of the framework. The COST Association has currently 36 Member Countries. www.cost.eu.